Web pages existing on the Internet are well known in the art. Users view web pages using a web browser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer® or Netscape's Navigator®. The architects of web pages are generally referred to as web page designers. The web page designers layout web page elements, such as images, text, and hyperlinks, in an orderly fashion so that the user may quickly obtain useful information from the web page. The size of an image on a web page is generally referred to as the image resolution. Web page designers layout the image and set the image resolution for display on desktop or notebook computer screens.
Wireless telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) with web browsing capabilities are also well known in the art. These devices are generally known as hand held display devices (HHDDs). FIG. 1 is an example of a prior art webpage commonly viewed on an HHDD. One of the problems encountered with browsing the Internet with a HHDD web browser is that the display screen on a HHDD is much smaller than the display screen on a desktop or notebook computer. In order to display a whole web page on the smaller screen, the HHDDs generally shrink or reduce the web page down to a smaller resolution. Thus, the user sees a smaller version of the entire web page. However, reducing the size of the web page is problematic because the web page elements may become too small to read or understand. Therefore, a need exists in the art for a method of displaying web page elements at their intended resolution on an HHDD display screen.
The prior art has previously addressed the problem of viewing reduced web pages. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,300,947 (the '947 patent) entitled “Display Screen and Window Size Related Web Page Adaptation System” discloses a method of adapting web pages to fit onto smaller screens. The method of the '947 patent involves breaking elements of the webpage apart and separately displaying the elements on different screens. However, the method disclosed in the '947 patent is not preferable because the user is not able to view an image at the intended resolution.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0158908 (the '908 application) entitled “Web Browser User Interface for Low-Resolution Displays” also discloses a method of adapting web pages to fit onto smaller screens. The method of the '908 application displays the web page at the web page's full resolution, but only displays a portion of the web page on the HHDD display screen. The method of the '908 application is not preferable because the user is only able to view a portion of the webpage and is required to view all elements of the webpage at full resolution.
Consequently, a need exists in the art for an improved apparatus and method of viewing a web page on a HHDD. The need extends to an apparatus and method which allows the user to view the entire web page and simultaneously view images at the image's intended resolution. Moreover, the need extends to a method which allows the user to navigate images such that the user may view the entire image at the image's intended resolution, albeit in separate, distinct sections.